Saina Named Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year

Courtesy: cyclones.com

Release: 06/11/2013

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AMES, Iowa – Betsy Saina wrapped up her collegiate career last weekend by winning her third NCAA title and becoming an All-American for the 11th time. The Eldoret, Kenya native also won eight Big 12 titles in her career.

Today Saina was named the 2012-13 Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. She becomes the fifth Cyclone female student-athlete to earn the honor multiple times in her career.

Saina’s senior season started on the cross country course where she became the third individual national collegiate champion in Iowa State history. She fended off late challengers to finish the 6,000-meter course in 19:27 to outlast the field of 253 runners.

Saina then earned a pair of top-five finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships, finishing second in the 5,000-meter and fourth in the 3,000 meter to earn All-America honors in Fayetteville, Ark.

Last weekend at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Saina’s impressive career came to an end with a first-place finish in the 10,000 meter and a second-place showing in the 5,000-meter run. Saina outkicked the competition to win her third title with a time of 33:08.85.

Saina recorded the world’s fastest 5,000 meters indoor, a 15:21.66 effort that won the ISU Classic. She also owns the third-fastest outdoor 10,000 meter time in the world at 31:37.22, which was run at Stanford’s Peyton Jordan Invitational.